Rain, Rain Don’t Go Away
Fall fell with a splat last week. While the rag forecast possible showers in the afternoon, rain started shortly after midnight in fact and before the day was done, more than two inches had fallen. The average rainfall for the date had been two-hundredths of an inch. It was a most welcome aberration, since there had been only trace amounts of precipitation since March, and the area was tinderbox dry.
Our housekeeper, who’s also the chief of the local volunteer fire department, was on her way over to our place, happy that the rain would at least make it unlikely that she would be called away, yet again, to a conflagration, when she came upon an accident. Better called a screw-up. Some yahoo who had recently moved into her sub-division had in only four days made a name for himself by driving the area too fast. She was the first to come upon his truck in a ditch. He was no where to be seen, but arrived shortly after she had called the CHP.
"Oh, yeah, like, uh, my best friend borrowed my truck," he explained to the officers.
"What’s his name?" they asked
"Um, Larry," he said
"Um, Larry what?" they asked.
"Larry, he’s just Larry."
Uh-huh. Turns out the vehicle lacked registration, and Larry’s best friend lacked a driver’s license. He may have a bit of trouble getting his truck back from wherever it was towed. Chief Jan wonders why we can’t just shoot ‘em all, these low-life scum, as she generously refers to them. She’s not a violent woman, and not really serious about shooting them all. There are just too many of ‘em, she says.
Jan also works tending bar locally, so she knows of what she speaks. Out here in rurality, there are a lot of folks who don’t conduct themselves with urbane sophistication, or even in marginal accord with the law. Some of them are on the lam, mostly for minor offenses. They and many more are receiving some kind of government assistance. Did you know that many drug addicts receive disability checks? The argument is that you’d rather give ‘em a handout than have ‘em break into your home to steal to support their habit.
Jan’s a big girl; she has to be to have hauled firehose for more than twenty years, mostly without pay. And her size has helped in the bar on more than one occasion. She contributes a lot more than most to her community, and more with a sense of participation than obligation. So she has earned a reputation for hard work and diligence among fire officials throughout the region. And her neighbors appreciate her for her unstinting generosity in time and attention.
For Jan, and all of us, the rain is a relief, lowering the fire danger and washing away the dust. The flowers all perked up with the promise of cooler temperatures and the impending winter allocation of two-and-a-half feet of rain. But this fluke — El Nino, La Nina, Da Ninny — doesn’t put the locals off their guard. Still two more months of fire season, and temperatures are forecast to climb back another forty degrees by week’s end. We can always use more rain.
And that’s SetonnoteS...I’m Tony Seton.